#a future without you ii kagome

[halfdcg]

You’ll be someone you wouldn’t understand.

[abouthoundsandlittlebirds]

Can you speak more to your Kirin and Kagura theory? Was Kagura sent to the future by Kirinmaru to protect her? If so, how does Riku know jack shit and think Rin is the mom? Or, if he’s purposefully lying to Towa about Rin being her mom, why would he do that? All I know is Riku looks hella sus whenever he’s with Towa, and especially when he mentions Rin.

Sorry for the late answer, anon, I was gathering information for your question. Surely I will share with you what I've thought so far, knowing that this is only an incomplete theory and not a certainty about what may happen in the future of Hanyo no Yashahime.

Since this post will be long and may contain spoilers I will add a cut, so keep reading if you don't mind it.

Recently I came across a theory that Osamu Kirin is one of Kirinmaru's offsprings, being this the reason why Kirinmaru could see the future through Osamu's eyes. Actually this kind of power was introduced to InuYasha OG show through Kanna's mirror and Byakuya's flying eyeball, allowing Naraku to see what they were seeing. We get to know about Osamu and Kirinmaru's connected view in episode 23 of Hanyo no Yashahime, where Osamu is looking at the sky at an airport rooftop(?) and saw the comet that comes to Earth every 470/500 years (conflicted translations in the videos I've watched). Shortly after this scene is over, we can see Kirinmaru also watching the same comet, even if it is only shown in the Reiwa period at that moment.

When I've first watched episode 22 and 23 of Hanyo no Yashahime I didn't give a second thought about those events, however now I recognize that they are VERY important to the storytelling. That is why episode 22 ended with the airport scene and episode 23 began with the continuation of this same scene.

There are three important things to notice with the airport event: The first is the connection between Osamu Kirin and Kirinmaru that I've mentioned above (and I am not the best choice to talk further about it, since it is a theory that belongs to another person); Second, Osamu Kirin thought that the comet could be seen by humans at the Reiwa Era, since as pointed out by Sota, the notice of the comet approaching the Earth's atmosphere is being spread through humans; and, the third one is that Osamu Kirin was actually waiting for somebody at the airport, since in the end of episode 22 he shows surprise to see the Higurashi family over there and chooses to make a comunication with Sota in order to catch information about Towa’s wellbeing and to do remarks about the comet instead of following his way.

Now, rewatching episode 15 that is when we first knew about the comet, Riku tells Kagome that every 500 years the comet approaches the Earth atmosphere and drops some fragments. Those fragments if not stopped by a powerful demon and by Meido Zangetsuha technic which is the only attack that can be used to definitively stop it (this note was stated by Jaken in episode 15 and is very important and the reason why InuYasha was kept alive, since he is the only one who can hold Tetsusaiga and summon it), will bring the age of destruction to Earth, the exact same thing that the Spirit of the Tree of Ages (also known as Treekyo) says that is going to happen in episode 4, planned by Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru. The first because he abdicated his title as Lord of the West and the second because he saw an opportunity in it to do as he wanted. We can see it through Sesshomaru's choice in InuYasha OG show and in the reaction of Kirinmaru when the comet appears in the Feudal Era soon after Sesshomaru's daughters were born.

Sesshomaru as the first born of Inu no Taisho was supposed to have heinreted the role of his late father as the ruler of the youkais of the West, that is why Toga left Tenseiga with the hidden power of Meidou Zangetsuha to Sesshomaru, which was the most powerful attack that Inu no Taisho had (perhaps because he believed that InuYasha wouldn’t survive many years with Kirinmaru hunting half-demons). However, Sesshomaru only released this power when Kagura died. In the episode 3 of InuYasha - The Final Act, Totosai says to Sesshomaru that something grew where Sesshomaru's heart was lacking, that is why Tenseiga reacted to his change of heart and was now ready to recieve the Meidou Zangetsuha. However, later on The Final Act, Sesshomaru gave this power to the Tetsusaiga, InuYasha's heinreted sword that the first born couldn't held, meaning that he couldn’t summon this power anymore even if he wanted. Even if Bakusaiga is a powerful weapon, only the Meidou Zangetsuha is able to fully erase the comet’s fragments, like we saw in episode 15 of Hanyo no Yashahime when InuYasha and Sesshomaru fought against it and in episode 22 where Toga and Kirinmaru destroyed it themselves in the past.

If we pay attention to Kirinmaru's reaction after the comet was destroyed in episode 15 we can see that he wasn't worried about the fragment being destroyed, even if it was his role alongside to Sesshomaru to make sure that the peace on the Earth should prevail. Yet, his place in that fight was taken by Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru's place was taken by InuYasha. Yet, in episode 23 the reaction of Kirinmaru about the comet fragment in Reiwa Era is quite the opposite, whatsoever. Kirinmaru seemed to be worried and angry to have to face the comet and he imediately went to InuKimi's place to know if the wheel of time moved and he even tried to gossip about the intentions of Sesshomaru with Akuru's pinwheel.

Knowing that Kirinmaru's intentions seems to face the comet himself, he needs Meidou Zangetsuha to destroy it in Reiwa Era. This seems to be the reason why he was kind of frustrated to know that Zero had broken Tenseiga. Since Tenseiga was the previous host of that technic, his intentions could be to return Meidou Zangetsuha to Sesshomaru's “useless weapon”, which means that he could get rid of InuYasha at least. However, with Tenseiga being broken and the comet approaching even more the Earth’s surface, he will have no choice but to spare InuYasha once more, and fight alonside with him.

By his actions, even if he put aside his plans of getting rid of half-demons, Kirinmaru is afraid of the prophecy of the Shikon no Tama about his death being true. That is why even if he thought that the Yashahimes were weak he still fought against them for a second time and killed Setsuna in the process. His problem with those girls is that they have Inu no Taisho's blood. The two Lords used to be pretty amiable with each other before Toga took a human as the mother of his second child, after being aware of the prophecy that a being that is neither human nor demon would kill Kirinmaru. Taking this action as a sign of treason in their alliance, Kirinmaru made Toga his enemy and would've fought against him if Inu no Taisho wasn't severely wounded as we saw in episode 21. Also, the events of this episode related to Toga's death would explain why Kirinmaru doesn't trust too much on Riku anymore, since his offspring couldn't arrive on time to save his enemy/friend's life. Riku must have sensed it too, because he went to Zero's side and openly betrayed his master in episode 24.

This lack of trust was the reason why Osamu Kirin was created. Kirinmaru needed a trustful subject. He didn’t trust too much in the Four Perils or in his sister. That is why he used Riku to deliver the medicinal herbs to Toga. It could be seen as a meanless job, yet the inefficiency of doing it had consequences. Riku now is no longer the first choice of Kirinmaru to do errands, meaning that he is indeed a pirate washed ashore like it was written in his introduction chart in episode 7.

We actually don’t know the reason or how longer Kirinmaru was sleeping before being waken up by Zero. What we know is that he lost his will to return to sleep when he knew that Sesshomaru had half-demons daughters and that InuYasha was alive and fathered a shi-hanyo. Soon after he knew this, Sesshomaru was introduced in his presence and offered help to kill InuYasha (thanks to him his brother’s life was spared).

If I may speculate over here, then my guess would be that Kirinmaru fell asleep after he heard that Sesshomaru was hunting InuYasha in order to obtain Tetsusaiga or when he learned that InuYasha was sealed by Kikyo’s sacred arrow. Kirinmaru doesn’t seem to be concerned about all the half-demons around, only with those who carries Inu no Taisho’s blood. We actually know that Zero was hunting half-demons, that is why Kirinmaru went to sleep and left the hard work for her to do. Even if Zero has no longer her powers, she could still get rid of half-demons, since Riku stated in episode 15 that Kirinmaru and Toga were the most powerful demons around 500 years ago, meaning that their bloodline is pretty exquisite.

Returning to the theory, after InuYasha and Kagome were sealed in the black pearl, Sesshomaru became the guardian of Izayoi’s tear. As said in episode 15 by Hosenki II, the black pearl is the only (actually easiest) way to go to Inu no Taisho’s resting place. Without it, Kirinmaru wouldn’t be able to reach InuYasha any longer and curiously Kirinmaru allowed Sesshomaru to become the pearl’s guardian.

Temporarily it should be a solved problem, but 4 years after Sesshomaru’s twins were born something may have happened that led Kirinmaru to doubt about his decision, being Yotsume a crucial proof of it.

When we first see Yotsume disguised as Sokyu in episode 1 of Hanyo no Yashahime, he tells Towa about a story that he heard ten years ago about a priestess called Kagome that time-travelled across the bone-eating-well located in Tokyo and alongside a half-demon called InuYasha she hunted demons. It could be a meanless information, if in the next scene we didn’t see a flashback of him in his original form watching Kagome, which seems to be at least 5 years earlier than the backstory he got to know, since that scene happened in the day that Root-Head attacked Kaede’s village, way before Moroha were born. Here then we have a mismatched speach. This means that even if Yotsume was watching Kagome that day, he didn’t know about her ability of time-travelling. So when Kagome were sealed with InuYasha in the black pearl, Kirinmaru didn’t know about her, since they were sealed soon after Moroha was born, meaning it must be more than 14 years ago.

The main question at this moment should be what happened in the four years after Kagome and InuYasha were sealed that led Yotsume to gather information about the origin of InuYasha’s wife. We can speculate as much as we want about it, but the main fact is that probably Osamu Kirin only time-travelled to the future ten years ago. But why? And how?

Whatever the reason for it, it is related to the forest fire that threw appart the twins and Rin becoming Zero’s shield. For four years Kirinmaru held back Zero, stopping her desire to kill Sesshomaru’s daughter. This action could be a proof of faith that Kirinmaru gave to Sesshomaru. Yet, this faith was broken and he decided to not give anymore protection to the twins’ life.

In episode 24 Zero tells Kirinmaru that the rainbow pearls are her tears and she is able to find it wherever and whenever she wants. It is a controversial saying, because in episode 15 she knew that the white and yellow pearls were with Sesshomaru’s daughters, yet she lost track of them inside the barrier that Jaken had casted soon as they were born. So at that time she wasn’t looking for the girls. And even if she could sense the presence of her tears, she was only able to see the girls when she learned how to use the spell of watching people’s dream/sleep, and this happened four years later, that is why when Homura set fire to the forest the twins weren’t inside a protective barrier as we see in episode 14, that was because Sesshomaru became Kirinmaru’s trusted subject and planned against his fellow. But how?

My guess is that this treason is connected to the black pearl. Something that we cannot see in naked eyes changed in the relationship of Kirinmaru and Sesshomaru. The first glimpse of doubt that Kirinmaru had about Sesshomaru was when Sesshomaru sealed InuYasha inside the black pearl. He didn’t doubt about Sesshomaru’s loyalty when he knew that he had half-demons daughters because they weren’t allies back then. They forged this alliance after Kirinmaru woke up and Sesshomaru offered help to kill InuYasha. And as it seems, it took four years for the trust to be broken.

At this time I’ll insert my Kagura theory.

After Sesshomaru sealed InuYasha and Kagome inside the black pearl, I believe he gave Kagura the pearl and told her to keep it safe. Izayoi’s tear was the assurance that his family would be safe. Yet, when he sensed that his family was in danger (probably after the fire in the woods) he sent Kagura to the future (probably to look after Towa and keep her safe over there, since he wasn’t surprised to know that Towa was alive) and decided to hide Setsuna among half-demons.

It is a fact that Sesshomaru’s daughters are half-demons (strong ones, to be honest), so Riku and Zero presumed that their mother is human even if she was underage, taking the close relationship Sesshomaru had with Rin. But if we recall episode 99 from InuYasha OG, Koga, that is a wolf demon and lives in a demon’s tribe, didn’t find it strange that Sesshomaru was travelling with the child Rin (that was 7/8 years old back then), and even took her as a love interest of Sesshomaru, showing that he knew little about humans and human x yokai interaction, quite different from those who knew about human life, like we see in episode 41 of InuYasha OG when Kagome, Sango and InuYasha showed horror about Koharu, a 13 years old girl that wanted to marry an 18 years old Miroku. Also, Kagura just like Riku and Osamu is only a puppet, an offspring created by the essence of a demon and the power of the Shikon no Tama. Even if she is said to be a demon, no one knows what kind of creature would be the children she had, specially with her creator being a half-demon himself.

Also, in episode 4 of Hanyo no Yashahime, after the Yashahimes met the Spirit of the Tree of Ages and killed Root-Head, Treekyo confronted Sesshomaru and said that his daughters denied her request and if he leaves Rin behind, the girl would never wake up again. Then he walks away from her and she says that it is also a way and perhaps the best choice. If we take Treekyo’s request to the Yashahimes we will know that the best choice she speaks of is related to stopping Kirinmaru from doing what he is aiming for. This means that after Sesshomaru knew that Towa, Setsuna and Moroha were fine, he dropped Rin in the backstage of his plan. For ten years (or even more) he worried about Rin in her sleeping state, however just when he found out that the girls were fine he changed his mind, meaning that something that was supposed to happen did not. Indeed Sesshomaru is still being protective over Rin, he even stopped his search for Akuru’s pinwheel in the moment he found it, to save Zero and Rin’s life as a consequence of the first rescue. However when she broke Tenseiga he didn’t think twice to kill her again, but still keeping a cold face that was hard to read.

I personally believe that when Sesshomaru gave his back to Rin and Treekyo at the end of episode 4, his plan changed and he then began his search for Akuru’s pinwheel that until then wasn’t a thing he was doing. We know that the pinwheel is connected to the wheel of time, so Sesshomaru’s intention is to change time or, perhaps, travel across time.

As we’ve seen in InuYasha OG show, only Kagome and InuYasha were able to time travel using the bone-eating-well. Back then Kagome had the Shikon no Tama (jewel and later fragments) and InuYasha had the black pearl. Then, in Hanyo no Yashahime only Towa, Setsuna and Moroha were able to time travel through the Tree of Ages and each one had a rainbow pearl. Taking those facts as an example, it wouldn’t be too impossible if only those possessing some kind of jewel/tear would be able to use this ability. The other possibility would be the pinwheel of Akuru and perhaps this is the way used by Osamu Kirin to arrive in the Reiwa Era.

Considering the concern that Kirinmaru had about the Wheel of Times moving and Sesshomaru’s search, probably Kirinmaru is hiding something related to the past/future from everyone else, except Osamu Kirin. And he is afraid of this hidden secret being revealed.

Taking Naraku’s arc as an example and how Sunrise is repeating some backstories of InuYasha OG into Hanyo no Yashahime, it wouldn’t be weird if later on Osamu Kirin is revealed as the incarnation of Kirinmaru’s heart, just like Akago was Naraku’s heart. This would explain why Kirinmaru isn’t afraid to face the Yashahime as he was when he heard about their existence. Definitively he is afraid of the prophecy, but he isn’t being cautelous while facing the girls. He showed more concern about the Wheel of Time changing than fighting the Yashahimes after being backstabbed by Riku in the place where the Inu no Taisho’s blood would be stronger. If we go back to InuYasha OG show, we will see the same kind of reaction in Naraku. He would confidently fight against InuGroup whenever his heart was far away and avoyd as much as he could a confrontation when Akago and/or Onigumo were near.

Using the information of Yotsume and the timeline drawn so far, the travel of Osamu Kirin would match with the information gathered about Kagome’s backstory, giving Kirinmaru the false hope that the future is a safe place for his heart to be, meaning that Osamu left him when Kirinmaru had a confirmation of Sesshomaru’s betrayal, almost 10 years ago.

Now, if we return to the airport scene where we see Osamu Kirin looking at the sky in episode 22, we notice that he watches an airplane land and then he glances at the comet for a short time. Then he gives his back to the sky and starts walking away, imitating five people close to him that too started to move away from the rooftop, when he notices Sota with his daughter, Mei, a few steps far from him. He shows surprise and go to Sota, starting a conversation about Towa’s absense from school (and showing no concern about it) and ending with the comet out loud observation.

For me it is a proof that he was waiting for someone to arrive over there. My guess would be Kagura. Also, when we see Osamu Kirin in the classroom in episode 4, he tells Towa to pay attention to the lesson, otherwise she will miss the context, and then he tells her to read the sentence in page 23 that says: “I am going to visit Kyoto”.

It could’ve been an Easter Egg, because in episode 23 he is actually waiting someone at the airport that probably is coming from Kyoto, because Kyoto is a prefecture located in the Kansai region, and Kansai according to the research I did is located in the West region of Japan, that in the Hanyo no Yashahime is a land that belongs to Sesshomaru (Lord of the West), meaning that the person/creature that is arriving in that airport is somehow connected to Sesshomaru and seeing that Jaken, Rin, Towa and Setsuna are in the Feudal Era and A-Un wouldn’t fit into a plane, it can only be Kagura.

To finish this theory that is already long enough and explain how Kagura and Osamu Kirin are connected, I must speculate even more and say that this connection happened because neither Kagura nor Osamu knew the backstory of each other and they might have taken interest for each other as an equal (two incarnations/demons). Also, probably the forest that Towa said that she grew up in episode 21 is located in the West, that is why Kagura was in that place and visits Tokyo, because Tokyo is where Kaede’s Village is located in the Feudal Era. My guess would be that using Towa’s age as a guide, she is looking for her daughter in high schools. Osamu Kirin being Towa’s teacher could’ve contacted her and is waiting her at the airport since he was the one that summoned Kagura over there. However, I believe that he is using Towa as a bait.

With Kirinmaru watching everything that Osamu is doing/seeing, he is quite aware of the fact that the comet is arriving in the Reiwa Era and also knew how Towa looked like before meeting her in person. Now, knowing that someone in the Reiwa Era that is not her family (the Higurashi) is looking for her, Kirinmaru is curious enough to see who this person could be since she is probably connected to Sesshomaru and if he can’t use her as a bait to hold Sesshomaru back, then he imagines that she is hiding something that would be useful to him.

As I said before, this is only a theory/speculation that I did using the anime info (and my imagination) to elaborate. All the real events I have tagged the place it came from (the episodes number) and gave them my interpretation. Those events without the official reference tagged should not be taken as a reliable source.

I thank you so much anon for this ask, it made me really happy to be able to share my thoughts with you! Again, sorry for my late answer and be free to say whatever you want, it would be a pleasure to answer you back!

P.S.: Sorry for the typos, I don't use Google Translator and my English ain't that good.

[deadlyglacier]

20 Questions tag~

I was tagged by @mythicamagic thank you senpai~<3

How many works do you have on AO3?

40 right now, plus 1 that is still hidden because of the SOFA Exchange event.  (I’m still a lil fish.)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

486,920!  That’s so amazing to me!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

InuYasha - A Feudal Fairytale (18)

FullMetal Alchemist (18)

Mass Effect Trilogy (3)

Let’s Play (Webtoon) (1)

Kingdom Hearts (1) But I hope to write for many more fandoms in the future!  I have ideas for fics for Castlevania, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Last of Us Part II, and more!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1.  Stardust FemShep/Garrus, Mass Effect Trilogy, Rated Explicit. A retelling of the Shepard/Vakarian love story, with lots (and LOTS) of sexiness, from Garrus' point of view. Starts from before the Omega-4 and will end sometime after the end of ME3. Trying to stay as true to the game as possible, while adding some things happening off camera and a new ending.

#2.  Flamingo Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome's method of beating the summer heat attracts a certain demon lord...

#3.  Hawk Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome and Sesshomaru discover they have a mutual attraction for each other after a battle and a slight comedic incident brings them together. At first their relationship seems entirely sexual, but eventually evolves into something real. What will this romance mean for Naraku? Or even the future?  *TRIGGER WARNING FOR CHAPTER 6! MAJOR VIOLENCE AND TRAGEDY* Very, very loosely based on "A Mere Digression" by elle6778

#4.  Daisy Sam/Charles, Let’s Play, Rated Mature Sam wakes up somewhere unfamiliar with a splitting headache with no memory of the night before. Takes place right after the S2 finale.  First chapter was my prediction for what would happen next, and then three other “wishful thinking” chapters happened, lol.

#5.  Chemistry Ed/Winry, FullMetal Alchemist, Rated Mature A look at how the relationship between Ed and Winry developed after Brotherhood ended.  Cute, sweet, funny, and hot (eventually—y'all that know me know I gotta have some NSFW in there).

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to everyone, especially when a fic of mine has just been posted, but sometimes I just forget.  If I haven’t responded to your comment, please know it’s just because I’m a big dumb and forgot!  I love getting comments, and I reread them all the time!  I just feel like there’s a time limit to when I can respond to them--if I let too much go by, it’s awkward if I reply.  Gah, but that’s just me getting in my own head, I guess.  I’ll do better!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oof, definitely Psychology, a fic I wrote for RoyEdOTPoly this year.  The prompt I got was dark, and I didn’t see any way around an angsty ending.  Read at your own risk!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Well, aside from the last fic, I try to write happy endings for all my fics!  But, if I have to name names, I’m torn between Zoology (another FullMetal Alchemist fic, RoyEd, for RoyEdOTPoly this year) and Stardust (my Mass Effect fic, which is long, but so worth it, in my opinion).  Both are very fluffy in the end!

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Argh...  I don’t really like crossovers, to be honest.  I actively avoid them when looking for fics to read.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought of writing them myself.  (I’m a total hypocrite, I know.)  I had an idea for an Inuyasha x The Sims fic, years ago, that I never did anything with.  The premise was basically Inuyasha and Kagome would get trapped in the game somehow (via the jewel or magic or something), and they’d be controlled by Souta, Kagome’s friends, Hojo--all sorts of different people who think the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha are in the game is just some kind of silly mod.  I probably won’t write it, so if anyone is interested in that crazy idea, have at it!  You have my blessing. <3 I also have a crazy crossover idea for what I call an “Ultimate OT3″ of mine that I’ve mentioned to my friends, but I haven’t actually written down yet:  Sesshomaru/Alucard/Sebastian Michaelis.  So be on the lookout for that!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t call it “hate” so much as “mansplaining,” but I have gotten a couple of comments that made my eyebrow twitch on Stardust--both on AO3 and FFN.  Just dudes (and I’m fairly certain they were dudes, just from their tone) trying to explain why a certain plot twist wouldn’t work, or tell me how to save Sidonis in the actual game (which I already knew, that person just didn’t read what I wrote). I’ve also gotten a comment on one of my more controversial fics, Hippology, on FFN, where the person asked me if I thought my summary was K-Rated (which, admittedly, it does need to be for the site, and mine wasn’t--because of a single word).  I changed it and messaged them saying it was fixed.  Going to that commenter’s profile, however, proved to be fairly enlightening...  They’re nuts.  They have another profile, too.  Read at your own risk.  Yikes. There’s also a team of people on FFN who make it their life’s mission to report stories with rule violations.  I’ve gotten a comment from one of them as well.  These people are not mods, they just like to pretend they are--one of them even made their name look official!  “CU Administration,” gtfo dude. I also recently got one of my fics removed from FFN.  It wasn’t even one of my sexiest ones!  They put me in timeout for 48 hours, and when I was finally able to publish something new on the site again, I posted Hippology (my centaur smut), and it’s still up as I type this.  (Wonder how long it’ll take them to notice?)  And since the fic that got taken down was a SessKag fic, I’m thinking it might have been a petty SessRinner who reported it to the “authorities” of FFN, because another friend of mine got hers taken down not long after mine, and it was also SessKag.  Just my tinfoil theory, anyway!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, yes, yes.  It’s practically all I write.  I do all sorts of smut, from romantic, sensual stuff, to specific kinks, to monsterfucking--all that good stuff.  Can’t change me~<3

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so.  No one has asked me if they can translate one, anyway.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet!  I’m open to the idea, and I’ve had little discussions with my fic-writing buddies about it, but nothing’s come out of it just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh, now come on!  I can’t pick just one!  But I’ll give you a top 3 (in no particular order, because they change places a lot, depending on how obsessed I am with them at the moment). Inuyasha:  Sess/Kag FullMetal Alchemist:  Roy/Ed Mass Effect:  Garrus/FemShep

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have a couple of stories that I deleted from my original FFN account that I’d like to re-write and re-post on AO3, but I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.  There were a couple of Inu/Kag fics I had in-progress, and then a Koug/Kag fic.  I recently rewrote and reposted my SessKag fic from years ago, Hawk, on FFN, AO3, and Dokuga!  So maybe all hope isn’t lost.  I’m even writing a sequel for Hawk! All the stories I have in-progress right now I plan on finishing.  At some point, lol.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, without a doubt.  It’s my favorite thing to write, aside from smut, of course--which is another strength of mine.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions, ugh.  I try to do them well, but I always feel like they get stale.  So I keep them somewhat vague, because in my mind, I think readers will fill in the gaps themselves whether you describe something immaculately or not--they’ll see what they want to see, and that is totally fine in my book!  Or maybe I’m just making excuses, lol.  I’ll only describe something in a lot of detail if I want the reader to focus on that--usually an outfit, accessory, or weapon--otherwise, I leave it up to their imagination (I don’t want manipulate it too much, I suppose).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Wildly unnecessary unless that author speaks the language as well, or if certain words already exist in the fandom’s translations (ex. “youkai,” “alkahestry,” etc).

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha, and the fic(s) I wrote in the beginning were terrible.  I want to burn all traces of them off the face of the earth.  I was in middle school.  I was young and stupid.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I gotta go with Stardust.  It’s the longest fic I’ve ever completed at more than 160k words.  I was so immensely proud when I typed “The End,” and I was able to say to myself “I did it.”

I tag: @glassesmcfancyhair @willowsrain 

[hirazuki]

Ooo I'm curious about your hot takes on the Inuyasha reboot after reading your tags 👀

Ahaha, where to start XD Idk if they are hot takes, but here are my thoughts in bullet point form for coherency, I couldn’t figure out how else to organize them. Under a cut, as usual, because it got lengthy... as usual :D

We are 13 episodes in, and I still have no idea wtf is going on or what the series is actually about. And yes, I’m aware that we didn’t know of Naraku’s existence or of the overarching plot until at least episode 16 of that series either and Inuyasha was still very episodic in nature at that early point too, but here’s the thing: Inuyasha did not build upon a pre-existing series. For better or for worse, Yashahime has certain expectations to live up to that the original anime didn’t, by virtue of its being a sequel. Unfair? Maybe, but tough; that’s what happens when you make a sequel. Additionally, despite us not knowing The Main Plot™ of Inuyasha until later, the basic framework for it was laid out clearly by... episode 2? I think? Find and collect the Shikon Jewel shards. Boom, done. Were there distractions or fillers? Sure, but you never got the sense that the characters simply up and forgot about the shards. Even in fillers, the shards often made some kind of appearance. With Yashahime, there’s like three potential storylines going on: 1. The most obvious: most of our main cast from the OG is missing; where are they? Apparently no one in-story cares! :D Inuyasha, who’s that lol. I’m all for a sequel focusing on the new generation with cameos of the old crew; after all, they already had their own series. But this is like... no one cares about them? No one talks about them? And the more characters go about not mentioning them, the stronger their absence is felt. Like, for instance, Kaede knows Moroha is InuKag’s daughter. Moroha grew up on her own, doesn’t know her parents. Kaede doesn’t mention them to Moroha, doesn’t even spare a passing thought about them for the audience’s benefit, Moroha doesn’t ask. Kagome’s family in the present day meet Moroha, recognize her as Kagome’s daughter and... say nothing??? Souta shows Towa Kagome and Inuyasha’s old photos, but doesn’t say a word to Moroha?! Like. It makes no sense. By people not even acknowledging their existence, it makes the fact that they are nowhere to be found even weirder. Also the new gen girls don’t care about their parents or finding out who they were/are... like, okay, it would maybe be in character for one or two of them, but all three don’t give a fuck??? 2. Kirinmaru/the rainbow pearls: Idk how familiar you are with the story, but similar deal with Naraku and the shards here. Kirinmaru is being set up as the villain, still a mysterious figure; our new gen trio is supposed to collect the rainbow pearls that... some of his henchmen have? Or he is after them? Or is that Riku? Unclear. ANYWAY the new gen girls often forget all about the pearls’ existence :D 3. Setsuna’s memories: Setsuna’s dreams have been stolen by the dream butterfly and they need to get them back, because without her dreams she has no memories and is unable to sleep. Cool! Finally a solid, easy-to-follow plot line! Except wait! Towa, who supposedly made it her goal to get Setsuna’s sleep back, forgets all about it! All the time! Like, none of them make an effort to look into this other than being like “oh yeah, know anything about the dream butterfly?” to random folks every now and then. The Inugang back in the day was putting some grad school level research towards their goals, just saying. It just feels like everything’s all wishy-washy and there’s nothing really solid tying the series together. People just remember shit exists when it’s convenient.

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Character development is MIA. I’m not expecting ground-breaking char dev in 13 episodes (though I do know 12 episode series that were phenomenal in that regard), but like... I do expect the series to focus on building the dynamics between the main three characters. So far, the series is more focused on teasing the audience with glimpses and promises of the OG cast instead. The creators are using nostalgia and bait (esp of a certain pairing) to drive interest in the series, rather than developing the new characters as fully-fledged characters for their own sakes. 

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Moroha is was the only thing I actually liked about the series. She is a little spitfire and you can somehow instantly see both Inuyasha and Kagome in her, while she also remains very uniquely herself; I have never seen such a successfully developed main pairing child in any series. She featured quite prominently in the first few episodes -- and unlike both her parents, she’s got a great memory and knowledge of lore -- where she balanced funny moments with badass fighting moments and being the token supernatural encyclopedia. It was great! And then... they’ve like... forgotten her. She’s been left behind so many times by the twins. She’s the butt of every joke. She’s become the type of comic relief that’s, well, insulting. More like a buffoon than anything else. And it’s basically all for the sake of giving the floor to Towa :/

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Setsuna is okay. Not offensive, but unremarkable. She’s got her dad’s personality but like way toned down due to her different growing up circumstances, which is nice, but like... I feel she isn’t given any room to grow or breathe or anything. She’s also basically there as a device to enhance Towa’s development.

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Towa... oy. I tried to like her, I really did, but she just doesn’t work for me. They set her up having a very Kurosaki Ichigo type deal with beating up bullies and getting into trouble at school and shit -- I’m fine with that. That’s cool. Esp if it’s linked to not feeling like she fits in bc she’s a hanyou? Awesome. Except once she travels back in time to the feudal era it’s all “Oh killing is bad you shouldn’t kill people” and “even though they attacked me I can’t possibly hurt them” and “you need to empathize and talk things out” and “friendship is magic” and shit. It feels like she had a personality transplant, it literally makes no sense. Her design is totally nonsensical too -- out of everyone at her school, she’s the only one dressed in a bright white suit? Do protags not wear the school uniform? Someone should tell Kagome lmao. She’s a pro at hand to hand, and she can absorb demons’ powers and fling them back at them like a personified Tessaiga, and she has a lightsaber sword, and she’s immune to miasma, and -- like... you get it. It’s too much. It’s way too OP for the type of universe that Inuyasha/Yashahime is set in. She’s hanyou for fuck’s sake; remember all the training Inuyasha had to go through? When he couldn’t lift his sword? When his sword attacked him? Sango, Miroku, Kagome, even Sesshomaru all had trouble with their weapons and had to work to become stronger. But Towa? Nope. Towa is straight out of the Yas Queen/Girl Boss manual, so she gets a free pass on everything.

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UGH they are doing the VLD/bad writing thing where things happen (like, BIG THINGS) and none of the characters actually react to them. Or stuff happens and there are no consequences. No one ever talks about anything. It’s wild.

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Everyone has amnesia!! :D People either don’t know or don’t remember anything or anyone. People who absolutely should know things all of a sudden magically don’t know them. Like, Kohaku -- traveled with an undead priestess, spent years in the company of demons, traveled with Sesshomaru... and yet had NO CLUE that Setsuna is Sesshomaru’s daughter or that she is hanyou, despite her living and working with his team of demon slayers all this time. Like... how, man. How. And Kaede! Don’t get me started. Since when does she perpetuate random demon-boogeyman type stories as facts? Demon children will kill each other in the nest so that only the strongest one will survive, therefore Setsuna must have killed Towa when they were infants. O_O What are they, sharks? Has she been hanging out with Kisame? Wtf?? And she’s speaking about Sess’s kids as though she doesn’t know him or anything about him, when she has had Rin under her roof all these years. It just makes. no. sense.

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Things that happened in the original series are happening again now! Because that’s the best we’ve got, recycled plot elements wooo! No, but really, characters that died or things that were resolved in Inuyasha keep coming back. Why? What was the purpose of bringing back Kinka and Ginka? To have a foil for Towa and Setsuna as twins? Someone please tell Sunrise they can just create new characters. Like, it’s one thing to have call backs to the original or cameos, references, whatever. But like... this is entire (dead) characters and interactions.

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No one knows how long it’s been since the original series ended. Fans initially heard 20 years from promo material, then “over 15″ and “10 years since” in-series regarding two different events, and now in a future episode summary we’ve gotten 18 years since Hosenki II gave Inuyasha the black pearl. But like, which black pearl? Because the one in Inuyasha’s eye doesn’t exist anymore, but Hosenki II had told Inuyasha that it would take 100 years for him to produce one. So, are we retconning that or where the fuck did it come from? Also, this doesn’t help one bit, it just confuses things even more. Back to the point, though, we have no coherent timeline or real frame of reference whatsoever, and I’m betting it’s in large part to keep the mystery of who is Sesshomaru’s wife going, as it keeps Rin’s age very vague. Everything is vague and mysterious in Yashahime, to the point where no one knows what’s going on, in fandom or in-story even. It’s kinda like how too much plot twist/shock reveal ruins a story, too much mystery does the same. It’s insane that both shippers and antis of that ship can lay equal claim that the “18 years since” announcement works in their favor.

tl;dr: Idk man, Yashahime is a clusterfuck of a series. Even if the mother of Sess’s twins is either of the characters I ship him with, I will still not like the series. There’s no saving this writing. Every episode feels like this:

[shinidamachu]

Holding On And Letting Go - Chapter II

Summary: Chapter I |  Chapter II |  Chapter III |  Chapter IV

Word Count: 1049  Genre: angst  Fandom: InuYasha  Pairing: Inukag  Format: multichapter  AO3 Link: 🌹  Fanfic.Net Link: 🌹

“‘S strange.” He said, late in the night — another one without her. They piled up around him. Vicious. Uncaring. It took him right back to his lonely childhood nights, wandering helpless, grieving an irreparable loss and avoiding the monsters in the dark.

Except the monsters were now a ghost who he ran to every three days, begging to be haunted.

The nights then felt as long as the nights now and yet, it was his favorite time to attend the well, knowing the low odd of getting disturbed or caught saying something embarrassing, since the villagers were fast asleep.

“You taught me how to feel again.” He continued, remembering how naturally Kagome teared his guard apart, a guard he had build out of past sorrows and rebuild — even stronger — out of mistrust, made to be impenetrable. “And I did. Mostly for you.” He shrugged. “Now that you ain’t here. What am I supposed to do with it?”

InuYasha waited for the miraculous answer he knew not to come. Not that he believed in miracles or any of the sort — not for someone with the likes of him, anyway —, but because he was truly lost.

All the love he held belonged to Kagome and to Kagome only. It was killing him that he couldn’t just give it to her.

“Sometimes I still boil an extra cup of ramen. And yes,” Kagome answered the comment, made by absolutely nobody, that she knew for sure InuYasha would if he was there. “I know it’s stupid. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

The more time passed by, the less she wanted to think about it. Days, weeks, months. None of it made sense anymore. She sighed and looked outside the wellhouse, a summer breeze agitating the Goshinboku leaves under the sunlight.

“I also keep waiting for you to burst out here and take me away at any moment, complaining I was taking too long, like you always did.”

The fact that he hadn’t, after all this time, was a clear indication that their situation was final, because if he could, Kagome was certain InuYasha would have come for her long ago.

“I wish you would.” She said, ignoring the lifeless well and the truth she couldn’t face just yet.

“You really got me spoiled, I hope you know.”

It was true. Hunting was not nearly as appealing as before and whatever food the humans cooked wasn’t quite as tasteful as hers.

Besides, since Naraku was defeated, InuYasha oddly found himself wanting to settled down in one place, for a change.

The slayer and the monk had already married and started their family there. Shippo spent all of his free time in the village too. Perhaps InuYasha could do the same. It was about time he stopped bother his friends on every cold or moonless night.

“I don’t think they’ll mind if I build myself a hut.” Far enough so that he could keep some peace and quiet, close enough so that he could be there in a heartbeat if trouble comes to them. With space to spare, for the runt to crash if he so wants. InuYasha smiled. Kagome would like that. “Nearby water. I remember how obsessed you are with those baths of yours.”

He blushed at the phrased implication, but never took it back. Simply because he meant it. Of course he did. Kagome has been a part of his future long before he came to realize it and ages before he cared to admit it. InuYasha would be damned if he stopped idealizing how their life together would be like now.

Even if she looked lost for him forever, how was he supposed to believe that when everything was a constant reminder of her?

Every time he stumbled on one of their uninformed old friends they asked about her, not used to seeing one without the other. Every time he wield Tessaiga in battle, he thought about the brave girl who managed to pull it out of his old man’s grave when no one else could. And every time he rested next to the Goshinboku, he played back the day they met in his head.

That was why he kept long exorcism trips with Miroku to a minimum, why he could never leave this place even if the whole village suddenly demanded him to, why he was always praying, dreaming, hoping...

Just in case she comes back.

“Keh, even if they did care, I’d like to see ‘em try and do something about it. ‘Cause I ain’t going anywhere.” InuYasha informed. “Not without you.”

“It’s true what they say, you know?” Kagome rested her cheek on the edge of the Honekui no Ido as the fatigue of a long day finally caught up to her. “You do learn to live with it eventually. What they don’t tell is that you don’t forget. Not ever. You’re on my mind when I less expect, even when you shouldn’t, even when I idly let myself believe I’m moving on… I miss you so much”

The bottom line, however, was that she didn’t want to move on. It could make things easier and maybe her friends would stop pointing out how often she seems to forget to smile lately.

Still, Kagome cultivated his memory pinned deep inside her brain, because the only thing stronger than the need to move on was the fear to forget.

And she was terrified.

In countless occasions she had wished to be an artist, only to immortalize his features when the cruelty of time fatally made it all fade away. The strong jawline, the cute ears, the impossible golden tone of his eyes.

But remembering hurt and Kagome knew InuYasha felt the same way — which made it all worse because she wanted him to be happy. With or without her, his happiness has always been the priority she held highest on the top of her list.

At the same time, the selfish part of her, the one she tried so hard to keep sealed and hidden, was reluctant to let go of whatever little room it had claimed in his heart.

“Don’t forget about me, okay?” She said, eyes closing under the low moonlight that entered through the open door.

Sometimes that selfish part wins.

A/N: thank you so much for reading!

[halfdcg]

Listen while you can.

[halfdcg]

How do you say goodbye to someone who was never there?